Just got back from 17 nights of misery. We only booked this hotel as we have stayed at Beaches at Turks & Caicos and Beaches Ochio Rios and thought this would be as good. Big Mistake!!!
The kids club excluded our 2 year old due a skin condition, in fact if your child even has a cold they will be banned and only allowed back after you have paid $120 to the doctor for the OK.

Service was generally very slow & with resentment. Very few sunbeds around the pools, I would guess maybe only 60.

My 9 year old daughter went to the kids club and was almost killed by their negligence when they allowed her on the bannana boat. despite a driver and a lookout on the boat she was thrown off and not recovered. The kids club's supervisers were not even watching nor were the 5 lifeguards. Only a diligent guest spotted her and saved her from drowning.

The kids club had lots of activities including a "scavanger hunt" which the 1st item to find was a used diaper!!!!!!

Having previously visited the caribbean 7 times the evening entertainment was the worst we have ever seen. It was fragmented and cheap.

If you do go, please beware of the Last chance Saloon as it may well be your last chance due the inhabitants that you share the restaurant with. We saw running around the floor giant cockroaches and the food was a health disaster waiting to happen.

Worst holiday we have ever had. If you have any standards go somewhere else. This is just the tip of the iceberg, if you want more details please email me.

First off…I, like many of the other travelers I spoke with on this vacation read TripAdvisor reviews religiously before I went so let me give you the most honest (in my opinion) review I can.

I took this trip with my daughter, 14 and son, 12 during Spring Break April 5-13, 2008.

BOOKING TRAVEL: If you have already booked, GREAT. If not, do not use a travel agent. Beaches will not even talk about any of your arrangement changes with you directly unless you book through them. If you book with an agent, you better have one that A. can answer all your questions or B. is readily available to get the answers they can’t give you.

FLYING: Travel to Jamaica from Ft. Lauderdale was uneventful. I flew Spirit in a ban from Air Jamaica for canceling my flight due to “not making enough money on that route” from FLL to MoBay.

AIRPORT: Okay, the Airport arrival is like arriving in a third world country. Only because there are major renovations going on when you get there. Since most of the flights arrive between 2:30 and 3:30 Jamaican time, you can expect about a 1 hour wait in Immigration during the busiest travel times. I went during Spring Break so it was a long wait. You then drag all your luggage to Customs. If you have nothing to declare, you are finally free. Then you encounter mass chaos at the Beaches/Sandals lounge. We weren’t there for 5 mins before they called our shuttle. People will suggest you don’t get a baggage handler but let me tell you, for $1 a bag, it’s worth it. That’s more room to carry your Red Stripe beer! The flight back is in a more modernized section so it’s not as bad as it looks when you arrive.

TRAVEL TO/FROM BEACHES: It is 1 ½ hr drive. So use the bathroom beforehand as not all drivers stop for a break. Sit back and enjoy the beach side view. You will see quite a bit of poverty during the drive. If you have a weak stomach for being a passenger in a fast moving vehicle, it’s best you don’t look because everyone saw their lives fly before them many times during the ride.

ARRIVAL: As typical with the Sandals/Beaches style, you are greeted graciously and happily with cool towels to cool you off during the check in process. We got to our room right away after we got our towels and a glass of rum punch for me and punch for my kids.

ROOMS: I booked a Luxury Ocean View and actually had an Ocean view. The location scared me at first as I was in the Montpelier building, but it was GREAT! I literally was steps away from the main dining hall and main pool and beach. Sure the bedspreads don’t match the drapes, and yes, it was not the MOST clean of all places, but I have to tell you, for being there 10 years and having thousands of wild kids tearing up the place I was actually quite impressed. The beds were super comfortable, they had Satellite TV channels, and even though it took 1 day and 3 calls to get a roll-away bed, it was great and we still had room for all our stuff. The balcony is a great option! The air conditioner worked too well, we froze ourselves out ever night! No leaking, no mold etc.

STAFF: This is the most incredible staff you can imagine. Every Ting is “no problem, Mon!” It’s great to know they sincerely mean it too. The Jamaicans just seem so appreciative to have a job and even though there is no tipping, hook up the “exceptional ones” because if you ever come back you will have star treatment. In particular, Damien at watersports was great. You have to get on his good side though. Tell him you heard good things about him on Trip Advisor and he will hook you up with chairs and towels daily so you can sleep in. The only person I can say I had issues with was O’Neil the teen coordinator. His actions caused a separation of his minion followers and the other teens. It made for some uncomfortable moments. He’s very moody. And he canceled events quite a bit.

ACTIVITIES: For teens, this was an amazing vacation. There were so many kids in the range of 12-18 that both of my kids found lots of new friends. The “teen disco” is being renovated and I guess depending on when you visit, the Liquid Disco can either be a teen disco or an adult disco. My kids and I really enjoyed snorkeling, glass bottom boat, the “banana,” the waterslide, the pools and more. The nightly entertainment was semi-lame and really there weren’t many places for adults to hang out. Although it was quite relaxing to get drinks and sit in the Aquaduct with a breeze watching the resort life go by. They always have some sort of vendors selling stuff. There was a theme to each day and on Wednesday, after the teens arrive back from a cruise to Rick’s Café, there is a BBQ on the beach and most everyone dines out there to the sounds of a live Caribbean band. Later they have dancing, fire breathers and contests on the beach for entertainment. There are tons of watersports. Lounging at the pool or beach is great. The X-Box game center has X-Box live so that was fun for my son. There is a mini-golf course where you get the equipment to play from the kids camp/nursery.

KIDS: Okay, I gave a breakdown for teens. I can’t tell you much about any other age group other than visual observations. The kids at the kids camp seemed very happy and the staff seemed happy as well as patient.

FOOD: Okay, the food is not the BEST but it works. Yes, you have the SAME offerings for breakfast each day, but there are so many choices, you can go continental one day, fresh fish and special order omelets the next or French Toast and Bacon the other. Breakfast is ALWAYS in The Mill. It is an open air buffet restaurant. Now the brochures lead you to believe there are more options than really exist. Okay, the Café Carnival is literally a little window that serves pizza slices that pale in comparison to Pizza Hut. I believe they have wraps and pasta there too. They only stay open until late afternoon. The Beach Grill also doubles as the Last Chance Saloon at night. Typical lunch fare and a Tex-Mex menu at night. It was Okay. The grill also offers food during the day and late late night until 3 a.m. for snacks. (hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc). Overall the food is pretty bland and unless you are at the buffet, the portions are small. Kimono’s was not as hard to get into, you just may have to eat late. I got reservations the 2nd day I was there for that evening at 9:00 p.m. It was cool and a fun entertaining show depending on your chef. The Seville now only serves ages 16 and older and they selectively choose whether or not they will allow you in with kids under 16. The Mill is buffet and open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Kimono’s and the Beach Grill are also open for lunch. Overall the food was Oka;y. Not my favorite part of the trip as I prefer “HOT” to “LUKEWARM” but it’s Jamaica so I found alternatives that made me happy.

BARS: The swim up bar at the main pool was great. So was the piano bar. No long waits. Tell them you like your drinks strong and you will get it. You won’t find $2,000 bottles of Hennessy but the booze is good and it works. It would be nice to have more “adult” places to chill in the evenings, but you make the best of what is offered.

SPA: Not worth the money. Get your mani and pedi done at home. Mine began chipping away after 1 day.

EXCURSIONS: Okay, listen to this part GOOD… DO NOT book any excursions before you know your options. 1. The shopping trip is a WASTE OF MONEY! You are on other people’s time and you spend more time at the duty free shops than the craft market, which is where everyone really wants to go. Get a driver to take you down town and you can use your own time to shop and be a tourist. Besides, you give your money to the locals. 2. If your heart can take it, do the Canopy Tour (zip line) it was so fun and incredible and the Chukka guides, Hollywood and Rayon were AMAZING! I couldn’t stop laughing! 3. I hired a private trusted drive to take the 3 of use to YS Falls. It saved me more than $100 dollars! And he was so nice and helpful and informative during the drive. We learned the history of Jamaica, etc. Now let me tell you, YS Falls is beautiful! You can rope swing into a waterfall! Later he took us to this hidden treasure I had visited once before called the BLUE HOLE GARDENS. It’s amazing, you will need to see my photos to appreciate the beauty. 4. DO NOT PAY for a shuttle to Margaritaville or Rick’s Café. They both offer FREE shuttles! Call them! Beaches charges $20 per adult.

TIPS: Scotia Bank downtown dispenses both US and Jamaican currency. Beaches does not take cash ANYWHERE, not even the gift shop. Bring bug spray with deet! They will get you and feet, ankles and calves fall prey to the hungry bugs. Get your beach towels (found in bins around the pool and beach areas) and claim your chair around the pool. The beach chairs were readily available and so were shaded spots, but it’s Jamaica, do you really want to set in the shade? Walk down the beach. There are great gift shops, lots of vendors and the opportunity to parasail, jet ski or get scooters (though it’s not recommended). Visit Margaritaville with the kids. They have huge water trampolines to play on while you sip on one of 52 flavors of Margarita’s.

FACTS: If you look remotely underage, they will not let your children leave the resort without a parent. Speaking of underage, there was a lot of alcohol offerings and smoking pot among the teens. Be forewarned. If you have teens, have them check in with you every 2 hours so they never feel to comfortable to get mixed in with that stuff. In Beaches defense, it’s the older 18 yr olds that secure the booze for the minors. There are not major issues that resulted from this, but it was done, so now you know. Don’t be naïve.

OVERALL: The trip was great. We had so much fun. It was also very relaxing. The best parts were the people, the watersports and the excursions off site. If you have teens, they will have a great time, guaranteed! I have the email address and Phone Number for Kenny the private driver I hired. He’s with Juta tours so he’s certified and traceable if you have worries. He’s really a nice guy and father of three! And his prices will blow those away of the excursions on the resort! Email me for his info. If I left something out that you want to ask about, pleas email me!

Hope this helped! - PS EMail for a link to more photos. I took them of the entire resort!

We have just returned from Beaches Negril. Upon arrival at the airport it was crazy as usual and the ride to the resort was about 1.5 hours with a short stop
Resort: We booked a conceirge room and glad we did as the privacy and having a bar with drinks and a balcony to sit on in peace was very nice. The resort is very nice with a huge beach, 2 pools , waterpark and gardens . Everything seemed to me to look up to par with the pool deck in need of repair [ more on that later]. They had ativities for all the kids ages very young to teens everyday . My son is 15 and once he became relaxed and found more teens we hardly even seen him. I went looking for him many times just to know were he was and what he was doing.
Room; We had room 427 in the savannah block which is kinda in the middle of the resort. If you cannot walk up stairs I would highly recomend getting a ground floor room as there is no elevators. Our room was nice with a veiw of gardens and small view of the ocean. We did have water pressure problems daily and one day no water, The response I received was sometimes the water flows the wrong way [ duh still trying to figure that one out]. Turn down nightly and cleaned everyday the room ladies are great. Bar was stocked daily and extras were included if asked for.
Tours; we did not book any tours thru the resort, however we did take an all day tour with a private guide that we hired on our own which turned one of the best tours we have taken. Originally we only told him that we wanted to go to a school to drop off supplies that we had bought well 8 hours later he was taking us back to the resort. He showed us parts of Jamaica that the tourist do not see and it was fantastic with no problems at all , some even looked funny at us and as the guide said these people may have never seen a white person before. We felt perfectly safe.
Overall; we did enjoy this vacation , but do not know if we will do Beaches again. Please do not let this deter you from going but I prefer the Couples Only like Sandals much more. There was just way to many people for me. The staff there are fantastic and try to do anything for you Thankyou staff. Some guest that stay there are just plain arogant and unacceptable that I have never seen at a Sandals resort. Not sure why that is.
If you have any questions feel free to ask
Pool deck; the pool deck is in poor condition, But while we were there they were surveying all around the deck area and one worker said they are going to remoldel. Now keep in mind if this pool is closed they will only have the smaller pool over by the slides which from what I can see will not accomidate everyone just my 2 cents worth

Hi im Nick and i am 15. I recently stayed at Beaches negril. It was def the best vacation i ever had. I stayed there with my parents and 3 brothers. If you have been to the website for this resort you might think it is directed towards younger kids and it is but dont be fooled. Dont worry about elmo following you around and annoying you i only saw him once. Plus if you are like me and are picky they have a kids corner at the buffet where you can get fries and chicken nuggets almost every night. Speaking of food here is what to know about the resteraunts. The 3 places i ate where the Mill (buffet) the blazing grille/ Last chance saloon and the beachside grill. The mill is a buffet style place you go get seated and eat. Depending on the time of day you can get breakfast lunch or dinner. The breakfast was my personal favorite because it had every thing you could possibly want for breakfast(eggs, pancakes, french toast , waffles, fruit, ceareal ect.
The blazing grill and last chance saloon are in the same building but if you go at lunch it is the blazing grill and if you go at dinner it is the last chance saloon. At lunch you can get anything from jerk chicken to grilled cheese. And at dinner it turns in the a tex/mex place (like texas roadhouse or chilis) then you can get huge t-bone steaks to fried chicken. the last place i ate at was the beachside grill its like a fast food style place. Chicken nuggets to Cheese burgers to hotdogs and also there is a vegetarian menu. the other two places i did not eat at was the Kinomos Japanese steak house and the sirville. The japan place you need resevations and the sirville has a dress code and no 1 under 18 can go. Now on to the water stuff. I'll start with water sports. On the end of the resort is a little shack where you can pick a time to go snokling or scuba diving. (need to be a certified diver for scuba diving but i think you can get lessons at the resort) Also there is a spot on the beach where you can "rent" sailboats water tricyles and wind surf boards. all you have to do is give them your name and room number and its yours. Para-sailind and jet skis are not provided by the resort but you can still pay to do it. It is not hard to find someone offering you to rent a jet ski or go para sailing there are everywhere. Most of them are nice guys who are just tring to make a living so dont flip out on them or anything haha. Talk to peter of jimmy those guys are cool and will make you a deal i went jet sking for 40 min for 40 Dollars. Moving on... the beach the main reson you want to go is great the jamaican guys rake it early in the morn so it is nice and soft and the water is so warm and clear unlike orther places i have been like Ocean city or Virginia Beach.Also the pools are HUGE each on has a swim up bar and the main pool has a volly ball net and a water fall. Also in the main pool at ten is Aquasize water workout haha. next is the activities. take advantage of these activities. the first one i went on was the shopping trip. This might sound a little wierd for a guy to do but i hade alot of fun first you go to town square where there are some cool places to buy t-shirts and other stuff to take home with you (also these shops are duty free) next we went to the craft market. This was a ton of fun you go around the place and looking in the little shacks and when you see some thing you lick you get to bargan for it. usually if you are good you can knock 20 bucks off sumthing. the coolest thing about this market was that every thing is hand made. i bought some cool wood carvings and a bracelet. The next place i went to was margaritaville its a cool place just to hang. I went at night but if you go during the day you can jump on water trapolines and try and get to the "lost shaker of salt" at the top of a rockclimb. My older brother love it here because he is a parrot head (Jimmy Buffet Fan). The food is good and there is a little gift shop for all the parrot heads out there. Lastly on friday night (my last night) we went to ricks cafe. A MUST SEE. you can tip jumpers to go jump off of a dead tree into the water and you can also jump into the cove from the top of the cliffs(my guess about 60 feet) or at the bottom for the kids about 10 feet. the sun set is awsome. You can look out over the water and watch it and also if you are lucky you can see some dolphins. And last i will give you some tips. drinking age is 18, bring bug spray and stong sun screen, dont over pack just take a couple t shirts and shorts and bathing suits. I dident wear tennis shoes the whole time i was there, dont bother going to beaches sandybay one night it is alot smaller (beaches & pools)and has the same places to eat.